Washington, DC—NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, applauded Sunday’s passage of health care reform legislation and subsequent approval of the “Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010” (H.R. 4872).
Taken together, the bills overhaul the current health care system, improving access to affordable health care for millions of Latinos and many other Americans.
NCLR continually raised concerns with lawmakers about the Senate-passed bill, but the reconciliation language shows marked improvements that will extend care to America’s most vulnerable families.
“The package of fixes that the House passed Sunday night demonstrates to us that lawmakers did, in the end, take into account key concerns that we and other community leaders had been raising about the Senate-passed bill in recent weeks.
Access to health coverage will be protected for some of the most vulnerable in the Latino community, including low-income legal immigrants and the residents of Puerto Rico,” praised Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO.
The White House has also demonstrated a better understanding and awareness of the barriers to health coverage enrollment and issues that face uninsured families with immigrant parents.
“The bills provide an important starting point, moving toward greater equity in our health care system. As we begin to implement this legislation, NCLR looks forward to working with the administration, which has indicated its sincere assurances to ensure that the benefits of reform touch every American community,” noted Murguía.
Anticipating the passage of the package of fixes by the U.S. Senate, NCLR supports health care reform legislation and urges quick Senate action.
“I am more convinced than ever that we did everything we could to ensure that the benefits of health care reform reach the most vulnerable Americans in the nation; this legislation represents an essential step to repair a system that has left behind so many Americans,” continued Murguía.
“We applaud Congress for working to strengthen health care reform in its finishing stages and congratulate leaders and the president on this important victory. We are in a strong position to work to improve the new health care system for our community and all American families for years to come,” concluded Murguía.
